The preferred embodiment concerns an operating unit for at least one electrophotographic printing or copying system. The operating unit has a display unit in which is displayed a graphical user interface. The graphical user interface contains a graphical representation of at least one setting value of a first printing unit. The invention also concerns a graphical user interface as well as a method for operation of at least one electrophotographic printing or copying system.
In known printing or copying systems, individual devices (such as printers and various pre- and post-processing units) respectively have (in what is known as a printer or copier path) a control panel whose user interface is directed precisely towards the configuration of the respective device for this device. Furthermore, printing or copying systems are known in which a common control panel is provided for a feeder unit and a printing unit. The control panel was operated with the aid of special software that provides a common user interface for the feeder unit and the printing unit.
Also, printing systems are known in which two separate printers are coupled with one another such that the front side of the paper can be printed with the aid of the first printer and the back side of the paper can be printed with the aid of the second printer. With such coupled printers, instead of printing the front and back side of the paper, i.e. instead of a duplex printing, it is also possible to print a print image in a first color on the front side of the paper with the aid of the first printer and, with the aid of the second printer, to print a print image in a second color over the first print image. Such a two-color printing is also designated as spot color printing. However, printing systems with more than two printers are also known, for example with three or four printers. In these printing systems, the parameters of the respective printer must be set at the operating unit of the respective printer. Given a change of parameters of the paper to be printed, changes must therefore be implemented on all operating units of the printers present in the printing system. Printing systems with two printers are also designated as twin systems and printing systems with three printers are designated as triplex systems.
An operating unit with a touch-sensitive screen is known from the document U.S. Pat. No. 5,105,220 A. With the aid of a display on the operating unit, an operating personnel is shown the operation with the aid of the touch-sensitive screen with the help of the display of a hand that appears on a represented button.
A setup navigation system for programming of reproduction devices is known from the document DE 196 11 645 A1. The reproduction device can be programmed with the aid of a device such that it executes a copy job corresponding to predetermined operating parameters. The programming device contains a user interface that respectively displays individual screens from a plurality of display screens existing on a standard operating function level, a job-related level and a page-related level.
A control panel display method for a copier device is known from the document DE 43 23 454 A1. The control panel contains a touch-sensitive LCD display field; various user interfaces for operation of the copier device can be set with the aid of this display field.
A user interface of an operating unit of a copier with which the blackening degree of generated copies can be set is known from the document U.S. Pat. No. 5,444,517 A.
A printing system with two printers operating in tandem operation is known from the document DE 198 36 745 A1, in which control data can be transferred between an operating unit of the first printer and an operating unit of the second printer. A control unit of the first printer is also connected with one another with a control unit of the second printer via a data line. Changed setting values can be transferred to the respective other control unit with the aid of the data line.